


Something About Distance

by often_adamanta



Category: Integrate - Thea Hayworth
Genre: Alien Culture, Dancing, M/M, Phone Sex, Post-Canon, Yuletide 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 22:47:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21842395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/often_adamanta/pseuds/often_adamanta
Summary: Spending four days apart for a conference was no big deal, but it was poor timing that it happened so soon after they became marked. Gavin did his best to deal with the distance in a professional and mature way, with mixed results.
Relationships: Gavin Hayes/Sezin (Integrate)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 42
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	Something About Distance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rhea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhea/gifts).



> Happy Yuletide, Rhea! I hope you enjoy it :D
> 
> Title from Elton John's Latitude. 
> 
> And as always, thanks to my amazing beta, [Chaneen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaneen)!!

“So how many times has Sezin messaged you?” Zessi asked, startling him upright from where he was bent over his tablet, sulkily filling out paperwork. 

“Not that many,” Gavin said. Then his brain caught up, and he arched an eyebrow. “Why? What’s the stakes?” The constant and byzantine system of betting that ran within the Scald clan amused him endlessly, especially now that he got to know the details.

“Low,” Zessi assured him. “Winner drinks free. It’s mostly an excuse to tease Sezin when he gets back.” She came in and pulled up a chair, displaying the document on her comm so that he could see the spread. 

Their elbows brushed, and Gavin consciously leaned into it instead of away, still unused to the open, casual touch from all the members of the Scald on him now that he was marked by Sezin. He scanned through the numbers, pausing on Hrran’s bet. “1500? He does know that Sezin’s only gone for four days, right?” 

Zessi giggled. “Well, you two haven’t spent much time apart since you were marked. I think he’s expecting some emotions about it.” 

“Sezin must not have shared the conference schedule,” Gavin said with a smile, although he’s only partly joking. “I don’t think he has time for emotions.” 

Gavin, on the other hand, slept in an empty bed last night for the first time in weeks and couldn’t even go out into the field to distract himself, not without his partner. Everyone expected Sezin with his hirsa instincts to be the one who couldn’t handle being apart, but Gavin’s been simmering in boredom and frustration all day and feeling like the worst kind of melodramatic shithead about it. He stayed at work late to put off going home alone and has to keep reminding himself that it’s only four days. 

“You should come out with us tonight,” Zessi decided. Gavin glanced up, worried that he’d advertised how miserable he was feeling, but she was grinning, no sign of concern or pity. “We’re going dancing.” 

“Oh,” Gavin said, shock coloring his tone, and then he frantically tried to think up an excuse. Hirsa dancing was its own deeply important and original cultural development, but Gavin couldn’t look at it and see anything but line dancing. The thought of going out after a day like today and very carefully not touching anyone and trying to follow along with elaborate and foreign _line dancing_ was too much. He’d probably start making cowboy hat and boots jokes two drinks in and insult everyone. Plus, he would spend the entire night thinking that what he really wanted was to ride Sezin and how he couldn’t and then he’d go home and collapse alone, sexually frustrated and even more depressed. 

“Oh,” Gavin repeated, trying to sound enthused. “That’s so sweet, but I–” 

Zessi’s hissing laughter cut him off before he could finish, which was probably for the best since he had no idea what he’d been about to say. “You’re so cute when you’re trying to be polite,” she said. “I’m not talking about formal dancing. I know most humans don’t like that.” 

“I’d just be so afraid to mess it up,” Gavin said, which was very true, and then paused and thought about what she’d said. “Wait, I didn’t know there was another kind?” He felt a little silly now as he considered it, given how many different ones humans had. 

“Of course, there’s several types,” Zessi explained. “But even if you knew a lot about hirsa dancing, you wouldn’t know about this.” 

“Secret dancing?” Gavin asked with wide eyes and a small grin. 

“No,” Zessi laughed. “Just exclusive. It stays within clans. Scholars think it was originally a way to strengthen clan bonds, but now it’s just fun. The club that’s hosting it tonight is owned by a Scald-brother.” 

“Sounds awesome,” Gavin said. “Are you sure I shouldn’t wait for Sezin?”

“Yes,” came a voice from the doorway, and Gavin turned to find Hrran slouched against the doorframe. “Sezin’s a total killjoy.” 

Gavin laughed. He could imagine Sezin’s dry comeback in his mind so clearly that he could practically hear it.

Zessi patted him on the arm. “Sezin doesn’t much like dancing, no matter what kind,” she said much more diplomatically. “And we want you to make up your own mind.” 

“So c’mon,” Hrran said. “Are we going or what?” 

Gavin glanced at the half-finished form on his tablet and then threw down his stylus. “I’m in,” he said, standing and grabbing his coat as Hrran and Zessi cheered. 

They picked up a crowd of Scald as they left the building, and it’s clear that there'd been some shift swapping going on for so many of them to be off duty right now. He’d always thought Sezin’s infrequent participation in Scald social nights was due to his reserved nature, but maybe it was just that half the time they were going dancing, and Sezin didn’t like it. Gavin would have to ask him later.

Sezin messaged him as they walked to the club. _I hear Hrran’s trying to torture you in my absence._

_I guess that depends on what secret hirsa dancing is like,_ Gavin replied. He looked up Sezin’s current time and winced. _Get some sleep. I’ll tell you about it later._

_Have fun_ , Sezin sent back, making him smile. 

Hrran poked at one of his dimples. “You two turning into lovesick fools is my favorite thing,” he said with an exaggerated sigh. 

Gavin laughed and flicked him off. 

He expected to be challenged at the door, even arriving with half the department’s Scald population, but no one gave him a second glance: not the bouncers at the door, not the sea of Scald inside, not the bar staff as they rolled up to order drinks. 

Scald had claimed him as their own even before Sezin had marked him, but these small demonstrations of complete acceptance still struck him at times, and he swallowed, grateful for the distraction when Kurz pushed a drink into his hand.

Gavin glanced around and took everything in, but so far it all looked familiar. He wasn’t much for clubbing anymore, but it was the same as all the clubs he remembered from his youth. The music was just loud enough that Gavin was having trouble hearing the conversation around him, his drink was a little watered down but not bad, and the press of the crowd was a little too close. 

He knocked back his drink, set the empty glass on the bar, and leaned over to Zessi. “I thought you said something about dancing,” he said, just short of yelling. 

She grinned and finished her drink, pulling him away from the bar. He followed her through the crowd and around a corner until the open space of the dance floor was stretched out before them. He watched the undulation of the crowd for a long minute, writhing in time to the strong beat and an unfamiliar atonal melody that rose and fell like waves, a smile growing on his face. 

The whole room was moving together: dancing. 

It was similar to typical human club dancing, more high energy mosh pit than dirty grinding, but at the same time, it looked slightly off. At first Gavin thought it was just that hirsa moved differently than humans, and of course they did, but then he realized that it was all the touching that sent a shiver down his spine. It had been drilled into him since he arrived on Koios not to touch. He’d trained himself to be careful because hirsa didn’t touch like humans, but this was a visceral example that in clans, in private, they did. 

“You ready to try it?” Zessi asked.

The thought that he could participate was even more affecting. This was something purely Scald that he could do, brought in and made one of their own. 

“Absolutely,” Gavin yelled back, beaming, and threw himself onto the floor. 

\--

Gavin called Sezin when he got home, pleasantly exhausted and sore from dancing, curled up in the empty bed in his apartment. 

Sezin answered after the first ring with his usual greeting. “Detective Sezin.” 

“Hey,” Gavin replied.

“Gavin,” Sezin said, his voice immediately falling lower and becoming rough with sleep as he dropped his professional tone. 

“Oh, shit, what time is it there?” Gavin asked. “Should I let you go? I didn’t mean to wake you up.” 

“My alarm goes off in half an hour,” Sezin said, which meant it was far too early. “But I’d rather talk with you than sleep.” 

“Okay,” Gavin said, grinning helplessly because he felt the same. “No video?” 

“No,” Sezin grumbled, annoyed. “Not on the department’s budget.” There was a rustle, like Sezin was shifting around, and Gavin wished he could see him stretched out on the white sheets of the hotel bed. Talking was infinitely better than nothing, though. 

“Did you enjoy the dancing?” Sezin asked. 

“Yeah, it was great,” Gavin said. “Though I felt kinda weird experiencing real hirsa dancing without you.” 

“ _Real_ hirsa dancing is done in the water,” Sezin corrected, sounding a little long-suffering, and Gavin suddenly realized that Sezin probably disliked dancing because he was bad at it, which was incredibly amusing. No wonder Hrran had heavily encouraged him to bring Sezin next time. 

“Well, I think I’ll stick to this since I’m missing a set of gills,” Gavin said. 

Sezin made a low sound of agreement, and Gavin was struck with a wave of how much he missed Sezin. It was a novelty to focus solely on Sezin’s voice, lovely and deep and currently accented with faint hisses on the vowels that meant he was tired and having trouble keeping his tongues together. Gavin often leaned against or on top of Sezin where he could feel how that tone vibrated in his chest, close and comforting. 

“I wasn’t sure I’d hear from you again tonight,” Sezin said. “I always fall right into bed at the end of Scald night.” 

“I did,” Gavin said. “But I’m also a little keyed up. Leftover adrenaline, probably.” 

Sezin paused for long enough that Gavin frowned, wondering if Sezin was unfamiliar with that idiom. 

“You’re in bed?” Sezin asked finally, a thread of interest woven into his voice. 

Gavin chuckled, thinking of how much he loved kissing Sezin first thing in the morning when he was still a little slow with sleep. “Good thought to start your day?” he asked, amused.

“I wish I could see you,” Sezin said. 

“I wish you were here,” Gavin returned. “Climbing into an empty bed was the low point of an otherwise fantastic night.” 

“Anything I could do to make it better?” Sezin asked, and his voice wrapped around Gavin, warm but insubstantial. 

“Lots of things,” Gavin said, smirking suggestively even though Sezin couldn’t see him. “All of them difficult to do at this distance.” 

“I figured you’d be up for trying,” Sezin teased. 

“If you were here, I’d show you just how up for it I am,” Gavin said, pitched dirty like he was mouthing the words against Sezin’s skin instead of speaking into a comm. He reached beneath the covers and wrapped a hand around his dick. 

Sezin swore, pained. 

Gavin’s breath caught in a gasp, and he could feel his face flushing, suddenly hot in the dark room. He let his breath out in a sigh, moved his hand up to rest on his stomach, and reluctantly said, “We probably shouldn’t start something we can’t finish.” 

“Is there a reason you can’t finish?” Sezin asked lowly. 

Gavin froze, feeling his brain skip tracks like it often did when Sezin suggested something new, and then broke into a wide smile. “You want me to jerk off for you?” he asked. 

“If you want to,” Sezin said, which meant yes but he was afraid of pushing. 

“Sounds kind of boring, here all by myself without a single tentacle,” Gavin said, shifting his hand lower, teasing himself. “You should talk. Keep me entertained.” He bit his lip so that his moan was muffled when he finally slid his hand around his dick again and squeezed. 

“Is my bruise still there?” Sezin asked. 

Gavin moved his free hand over to the hickey mottled red on the crest of his hip. He pressed his fingers in, feeling the places where Sezin’s pointed teeth had left sensitive spots of dark purple behind, and whined at the flash of pleasure-pain. “Yeah,” he breathed out. 

“I’ve thought of asking you for this,” Sezin said. For a second, Gavin thought he meant phone sex, but then he continued with something even hotter. “Letting me watch you like this. It’d be difficult not to touch you myself, but I want to see how you do it. How you make yourself feel good.” 

“Oh my god,” Gavin replied, panting now and feeling hot enough to kick off the sheets. He wondered if Sezin could hear him moving around in their bed. 

“You’re beautiful, you know,” Sezin continued, matter of fact, as if that was an acceptable thing to say instead of something that made Gavin’s back arch to thrust his leaking dick harder into his hand. “Some days it’s difficult to do anything but watch you.”

“Keep talking like that,” Gavin said breathlessly. “And you’re gonna make me come.” 

“Please do,” Sezin encouraged. “I want to hear the noises you make when you lose control. It’ll sound so good that you’ll make me come, too.” 

“Shit,” Gavin bit out, hand moving faster. The pleasure from touching himself and the desire to please Sezin aligned to make everything a little more intense, every part of him aimed at the same goal. “Sezin, please.” 

“What, Gavin?” Sezin asked. “What do you want? I’ll give you whatever you need.” 

It was absolute truth, something that Gavin knew in his bones, but hearing it again, being reminded of it while they were apart, was enough to push Gavin over the edge with a wordless cry. He came and curled toward the comm so that Sezin could hear every single desperate breath. 

When he finally stilled, there was nothing on the other end of the line but the faint rustle of sheets. “Sezin?” he asked. “Did you? Did I make you come?” 

“Yes,” Sezin said, and Gavin felt another low throb of pleasure go through him. 

“How?” Gavin asked, not sure if he was making enough sense.

Sezin understood, though. “Dorsal,” he said, faintly amused, like he’d never had to categorize his orgasms for someone before. 

“Oh,” Gavin said, weirdly disappointed. “Do you want me to–”

“No time, regrettably,” Sezin interrupted, but he sounded soft and pleased, so Gavin relaxed again. “I have to get ready. And you need to get some sleep.” 

“Yeah, okay,” Gavin sighed. 

“I’ll be home the day after tomorrow,” Sezin said. “We can continue this discussion then.” 

“Discussion, huh?” Gavin said. “Seems silly to call it that when you were the only one speaking. Next time you’ll have to let me do the talking.”

There was a clatter on the other end, as if Sezin had dropped his comm, and then a muffled curse. “Goodnight, Gavin,” Sezin said, ending the connection over the sound of Gavin’s laughter. 

This had definitely been a much better night than expected, and Gavin fell asleep quickly with a smile still on his face.

**Author's Note:**

> The book canon this is based on contains fascinating alien culture and world building, explicit queer sex, and tentacles, all wrapped up in a tidy murder mystery. If any of that appeals to you, I strongly suggest you check it out!


End file.
